Tina and the Tattooer
by eloisebelcher
Summary: This is a story about Tina in the future after college, going back home and finding love again. Also, Louise has depression.
1. Chapter 1

Tina Belcher sat on her bed at her parents house. Her old room was decorated the same as it had always been. Her horse posters were still strewn across the walls and figurines on every flat surface. Her old erotic fan/friend fictions stood upon a shelf near the window, bar one. In her hands was one of the many friend fictions she wrote about Jimmy Junior. Reading it made her sad.

Jimmy Junior was Tina's first everything. First slow dance, first kiss, first boyfriend, and first… She sighed. Tears swelled in her eyes as she remembered finding out the truth.

She remembered her trip to Australia to visit him at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Jimmy had got some dancing scholar ship there. She had to work in every spare moment she had just to save up the money. She flunked one of her classes because she had no time to study, making her graduate a semester later than originally planned.

Tina remembered the moment. They were at a frat party, only they didn't have fraternities in Australia, so it was just a college party really, but it seemed very frat like to Tina. She'd gone to the bathroom for mere minutes and returned to see Jimmy passionately locking lips with his roommate Dave.

She remembered running out. Tina was so upset at what had happened, and unsure of what to do. She was a million miles from home, with no cell phone. As luck would have it, a kind girl from the party had followed her outside. She brought Tina back to her room and let Tina sleep on her bed while she slept on the floor.

In the morning, the girl managed to change Tina's flight, drive her to the airport and hug her goodbye. In Tina's upset and betrayed state, she never got the girls name. Tina always regretted that.

Tina had only been back in America for a week before Jimmy Junior changed his relationship status on Facebook to single and suddenly he started getting tagged in photos from months and months ago that Tina had never seen. There were photos of him kissing girls and boys, one picture showed him smiling while a blonde girl grabbed at his junk.

Tina was heart broken. She threw herself into school and work. Without Jimmy Junior as a distraction her GPA improved significantly. After graduation Tina got a job straight away, which was surprising 'in this economy.'

And now she was at home, in her old bedroom during her one week off for the summer.

"Tina!" Exclaimed Gene, her brother, as he burst into her room, "I know what to get Louise for her birthday!"

"Nineteen isn't really a big deal, maybe we can wait until her 21st to get her a present." Tina replied.

"I know!" Gene complained, "But there is a new tattoo shop open a couple of stores away from here, and I'm too scared to go inside without a good reason! I'm so curious! And Louise would LOVE a tattoo."

"I guess."

"And we hardly have sibling bonding time since Louise and I are at college and you are publisher."

"I work for a publishing firm, I'm not a publisher."

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"Ugh."

"Anyway, I'll call and make an appointment now."

"Fine."

Gene left. Tina looked at her friend fiction. It's not that she still had feelings for Jimmy that ship had sailed. But being there, in the room where they… She just didn't know if she could handle it.

"Tina," Gene popped his head in her door way, "Once I'm finished making this call, me and Louise are going to help you burn those."

"Thanks Gene."


	2. Chapter 2

"Tina, wake up." Gene whispered to his sister.

Tina was disoriented and tired. She had hardly slept, too many intrusive thoughts about things that didn't matter.

"It's too early Gene."

"It's 10 am!" He retorted, still whispering, "And I made you breakfast."

Tina opened her eyes and was shocked to see a blurry taco held out in front of her.

"This isn't breakfast food."

"Sure it is!" Gene reassured his sister, "It has all the major food groups, carbs, protein, vegetables, the other ones."

"I'm not eating it."

"Okay."

Tina reached over and found her glasses, she put them on and saw Gene eating the taco, leaving bits of taco filling all over her bed.

"Ugh, Gene."

"I'm sorry, I'd let it fall on the floor but Mum and Dad have a Roomba now. If the robots get a taste for tacos they'll definitely take over."

Tina smiled. She was glad that even after everything that had happened in high school, her little brother still had his sense of humor. High School was fine for Tina, she had a popular boyfriend, which meant she was also popular. And not many people try to bully the popular kids.

High school started off fine for Gene too. But things changed when Gene came out. Even with legal gay marriage there are still assholes out there that can't accept anything. Gene was bullied really badly.

As soon as Louise got to High School though, the bullying stopped. Tina always wished she could have been as strong as Louise, and she felt so guilty that she was never strong for Gene.

"So what do you want for breakfast?" Gene asked.

"Nothing." Tina answered.

"That's no way to start the day!"

"Well I don't want to start the day yet Gene."

"You said you'd come with me to the tattoo shop."

"No I didn't, you said you'd call and make an appointment."

"Well, it turns out you need to put a $40 deposit down or they won't make an appointment. And I'm only the ideas man, you're in charge of cash flow."

"Ugh." Tina complained, "Fine."

"Well get ready quickly, who knows when Louise will wake up!"


	3. Chapter 3

Light beamed gingerly through the crack at the bottom of Louise's door.

"I guess that means it's day time." Louise thought to herself, looking at the only source of light in her windowless room. "It's not like I care." her mind continued as she rolled over, shying away from the door.

On her wall, she could see long shadows. She had never feared them when she was a kid, but now. Her mind was scattered. For the first time in Louise's life, she was starting to fear the dark.

"I guess I won't be staying in bed today."

She crept out of her room on her tiny feet, trying not to wake anyone. The restaurant wouldn't open for another couple of hours, Louise was sure no one would be up, but Gene and Tina's doors were open. She peered in. They were gone. Relieved she wouldn't have to pretend to be happy for a while, Louise walked to her parent's room.

She knocked at Bob and Linda's door.

"Mum," she whispered, "Dad."

"Come in my Baby Seal." Linda replied, opening the covers for Louise, who carefully climbed over her mum, and lay down in the middle. Bob wrapped his arms firmly around Louise, Linda gently stroked her hair and for the third time that week, Louise broke down in her parent's arms.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ding" the front door of the tattoo parlor chimed as Gene and Tina entered. The floors were tiled black and white like a checkerboard, there were drawings of traditional tattoos scattered across the walls and they were met with a strong smell of antiseptic. It felt like being in a really weird hospital. A girl with lots of facial piercings and a neck tattoo scrolled through her phone at the counter. She glanced up at them momentarily before returning to scrolling through her phone.

Tina looked around and tried to take everything in. This place was a world apart from everything she'd ever known yet there was something that felt so familiar. Behind the counter, a man in a denim vest. white shirt and thick tattooed sleeves tattooed a patron, with his back to them. It seemed almost as if one of his harms was completely blacked out with ink. Tina couldn't see what was happening, but she was sure it was painful. The loud buzzing and pained gasps of the bearded man getting tattooed made her certain.

"Hello Ma'am, my name is Gene, I believe we spoke on the phone." Gene approached the girl at the counter.

"You're here about the tattoo, right?" The girl laughed.

"Well, yeah."

"So what you wanna get done?"

"Me? No." Gene replied, "It's a gift for my sister."

The girl turned to Tina, "So what you wanna get done?"

"Uhh…"

"Not her, my other sister."

"So what she wanna get done?"

"I don't know, we just wanna pay for it, as a gift."

"I don't think we can do that."

Gene pulled his pants up. Tina knew from experience that that meant bad news for this girl. It meant he was about to go "full angry Linda". Whenever Tina's mum was told that a sale had ended, if she found out her babies were in trouble or if Colleen Caviello was going on about her Bake Seedy, Linda would get mad and use her words to viciously take someone down. Gene did the same, but with Gene you always knew it was coming, because he'd pull his pants up first.

"Listen here miss," He began, "I've come a long way to put down a deposit on this tattoo. We spoke on the phone, and you agreed to these terms. Then when I get here, you're rude and condescending, blatantly laughing at me."

"I…" The girl tried to interject.

"No I haven't finished." Gene continued, "You're too busy on your phone to treat paying customers with some respect? There are other tattoo shops in this town, and you'd turn customers away in such a rude manner."

"Gene, please." Tina reasoned.

"No! I want to talk to your boss! How'd they like to here about you lying to customers on the phone, and then rejecting their attempt to buy services from your artists, I'm ashamed in you."

"Look, I'll go ask Icky if he can make an exception for you."

"You better."

The girl walked over to the tattoo artist in the jean vest. She spoke softly to him; the buzzing stopped briefly as the artist stole a glance at Gene and Tina before continuing with his work. In the short second Tina saw the side of his face, covered mostly by a thick brown beard, she could've sworn she recognized him from somewhere. She quickly shook it off.

The young lady returned, if slightly disappointed.

"he said its fine," she told tem, "but it has to be an afternoon appointment."

"Tina," Gene called to his sister, "Pay the lady while I wait in the car."

"Gene we walked here."

"Never interrupt a woman when she sashays away," he said walking sassily to the door, "that's rule number one."


End file.
